


Campfire Stories

by honestgrins



Series: Elsewhere [4]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-24 18:19:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6162407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Camp Mystic’s favorite counselors are the best storytellers, especially when they’re trying to figure out their own story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Campfire Stories

“Tell another one, Caroline!”

“Please?”

“Pretty please?”

Caroline rolled her eyes indulgently at the pleading faces flickering in the firelight. “Fine,” she sighed playfully. “But then it’s time for lights out, you all need your rest before tomorrow.” She tried not to smile at their answering groans.

“But we don’t want to leave,” Emily said, pouting.

It was the last night of camp, and the girls of Maple Cabin were all but morose after eight weeks of fun in the sun. Not wanting to spend the evening soothing tears, Caroline had promised her girls plenty of s’mores and campfire stories to distract them from their impending separation.

“I know,” Caroline responded sadly. This was her first year as a counselor at Camp Mystic, and she had bonded with her cabin more than she expected. “Lucky for you, though, that I’m a great storyteller.”

“Not as good as me, love.”

Caroline pinched her face when the quiet night was filled with 12-year-old squeals. Her cabin had the most annoying crush on the most irritating counselor, Klaus, who just happened to appear at their campfire. “Don’t you have your own campers to supervise,” Caroline asked snidely, ignoring the girls giving her dirty looks.

“Elijah’s giving all the boys a final talking-to before lights out, cleaning and such,” Klaus explained, shrugging as he made space for himself next to her on the log. “I noticed the fire and wanted to make sure you weren’t burning down the woods.”

Scoffing, Caroline scooted inches away. “We’re fine, thank you,” she said with a fake smile. “You can go now.”

“Sweetheart,” Klaus protested. “I promised them a story.”

“He did,” the girls crowed, instantly excited to get any of Klaus’s attention. “Please, Caroline?”

Without waiting for her rebuff, Klaus jumped right in. “Did you know there are caves hidden deep in these woods,” he asked, voice low and mysterious. Caroline stiffened next to him, but he continued. “Five years ago, two campers just about your age found the biggest one yet.”

“Only because the boy tricked the girl into exploring the woods after lights out,” Caroline broke in with a glare. “It was so dark, she nearly twisted her ankle just trying to walk.”

“And yet,” Klaus went on, dimples deep in his cheeks, “they found the cave without a scratch on them. When the girl finally stopped complaining they were going to get caught-”

Caroline huffed and crossed her arms, which only made Klaus smile more as he spoke.

“The campers started to explore the cave. Armed only with their flashlights, they picked their way through gravelly floors. Each pebble they kicked rippled through the cave with an echo, and the girl grabbed for the boy’s hand.”

“He had threatened to leave her,” Caroline pointed out. “And she knew better than to let him get too far. That’s all.”

The girls all giggled, well aware of who the campers must have been. Klaus just continued his story.

“Anyway,” he said, rolling his eyes. “There wasn’t much room to move too far into the cave, which made the echoes all the more eerie. Suddenly, a SHRIEK-” He yelled for emphasis and elbowed Caroline for a jolt, smirking at the shocked gasps from around the fire. “-filled the cave. It was probably just bats or some other creature the campers disturbed, but it scared the girl nearly to death.”

“Though the boy screamed almost as loudly,” Caroline corrected, still frazzled from his poke. “And they both scrambled out of the cave as quickly as they could. Once they made it outside, the boy made her promise she wouldn’t tell his siblings and friends about how scared he was.”

“Which she did anyway,” Klaus replied, sighing. “He was the laughingstock of camp for the next week.”

“And the moral of the story, girls,” Caroline interrupted with a meaningful glare, “is to never trust the friends that encourage you to sneak around the woods. All it gets you is trouble.” Looking around, though, she could see the mischievous glances being sent around. “And before anyone gets any ideas, remember that tonight’s your last night in Maple Cabin. Enjoy that time while you still have it.”

The mischief was tamped down by a pall of sadness, so Caroline made sure to smile brightly. “Speaking of Maple Cabin, it’s time to start getting ready for bed,” she announced, jumping up from her log. “You all go ahead, Klaus and I will clean up the campfire and s’mores.”

Despite a chorus of “oohs,” the girls stood and waved as they made their way toward the cabins.

“Thanks for that,” Caroline said as she started to pack up the s’mores supplies. “I’ll have to be on guard all night to make sure they’re wandering out to the woods.”

As annoyed as she was, she couldn’t help the small smile and blush that took over her face when she felt him wrap his arms around her from behind. “And here I had such plans for our night,” he whispered in her ear.

“Klaus,” she whined, pushing back into him. “We can’t.”

He nipped at her neck, tracing his tongue lightly between his teeth. “I believe you were the one saying we should enjoy the time while we still have it,” he said.

Keening at the feel of his breath on her neck, Caroline quickly stepped out of his embrace to face him. “Our time is dwindling because this is your last summer here, and you know it,” she said. “You’re going off to college, and I’ve got senior year to focus on. I’m tired of being a last hurrah, Klaus.”

“You’re not a last hurrah, love,” Klaus insisted, brow furrowing in confusion. “We’ve talked about this.”

“No, we’ve been sneaking around all summer and ‘enjoying our time,’” she corrected. “You say we can still keep in touch, but we say that every summer. And we never follow through.”

“I would think the change in circumstances would make it very clear that our situation would be different this year,” he answered, approaching her like a spooked animal. He carefully stroked her waist, pulling her toward him. “Caroline, you must know that I’m mad over you.”

Caroline shrugged, shaking her head. “Sure,” she said dismissively. “Then you go to school, meet all these cool, new people who aren’t in high school. I get incredibly jealous of the girls hanging around, you resent me for butting into your life. It gets…ugly.”

“Or,” Klaus countered, “we just take things day by day. We actually keep in touch, calling or texting. If we want to see each other, we can see each other. We figure it out without giving up on each other.” He lowered his forehead to hers and squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t want to give you up.”

Caroline pulled back, and Klaus’s eyes opened wide, terrified that she was leaving altogether. Instead, she slowly bent her head back to graze his lips with hers. “Okay,” she whispered in the flickering firelight. “But we still need to clean all this up.”

She hugged him quickly before setting about her task, and he found himself just watching her. Later, they filled their night of watching for errant campers with stories of their own. As they cuddled in the oversized hammock just outside the cabins, the traded tales of what their relationship would look like once they left camp. While Caroline worried about the bats waiting to spook them, Klaus took her hand in his.

Whatever happened, they would face it together.


End file.
